An energy management solution that integrates with a building’s meters could enable you to significantly cut energy costs and control your business’ carbon footprint

When it comes to energy management, many businesses are put off by the prospect of solutions that require a complex setup and significant capital investment. That is why Schneider Electric has developed a solution to address the issue with its Remote Energy Management (REM), an online energy measurement tool which helps track and access energy use across multiple sites – all on a cost effective payment structure with no need for onsite servers.

The system integrates with a building’s existing energy meters and allows you to monitor water, gas, electricity and steam consumption and even report on cost saving opportunities by tracking the best energy rate. It also allows you to verify the accuracy of energy bills, track and report on CO2 emissions, set emission targets and creates schedules for sending energy usage reports and updates via email.  Also, because of the system’s cloud-based location, information can be accessed anywhere you have an internet connection, including smart phones.

REM can also identify major power inefficiencies within a premises; a tool Schneider Electric general manager – marketing, power business, Farokh Ghadially says is integral to kick-starting a company’s energy savings.

“In many cases, you can save up to 25% just by fixing the basics. We found customers that had previously invested in power factor correction units that hadn’t even been turned on, and there have also been instances where a company had been paying for energy on sites that no longer belong to them.”

The key to the success of the system lies in its simple user interface; information that usually requires complex and time consuming calculations is relayed in a way that anybody can understand.

Through clear visualisations, you can view consumption, demand, targets and baselines from multiple sites and even visualise and monitor your carbon footprint.

“We found there was a gap in the market to present energy data in a way that allows every person that walks into a building to understand it,” Farokh says.

“There are different ways the data can be depicted, it could be in a chart, it could be as a pink piggy-bank, either way, it’s not complex data that has to be analysed and deciphered by engineers.

“This means that the decision makers in the building, such as the chief financial officer, can simply see the data every day, giving them a quick snapshot of their energy usage and emissions. Not only that, but everybody within a company can see what they have consumed, and they can benchmark that consumption against yesterday or against other buildings they own. It really makes energy omnipresent, and that’s the power of REM.”

As well as providing the industry with a useful energy management tool, at the heart of Schneider Electric’s strategy is a simple and powerful idea; using natural resources more efficienctly is both profitable and better for the environment.

“We call ourselves the energy optimists; we want to provoke the right behaviour in the market. There’s a lot of talk about what can happen in the future through renewable solutions – we’re not going against that plan, but energy efficiency is something we can address right now,” Farokh says.

“We’ve had feedback that contractors are passionate about energy efficiency and they’re advocates for energy management. When they get an enquiry from a client to provide an energy management system that displays information onsite, that’s when they can provide a solution in the shape of REM.

“We are also trying to drive end user awareness in all our campaigns, as we do, it will feed into the contractor channel and they will be able to pick up on the demand.”

Schneider Electric has even lead by example, connecting 50 of its sites around Australia to REM.

“Through understanding our energy consumption we picked up that we were on a higher tariff at our Eagle Farm site in Queensland, so by changing provider, we were able to save 12% per annum,” says Farokh.

Farokh says that, Schneider Electric aims to be a trusted energy partner for customers.

“REM gives us powerful information on the customer’s energy usage which we could use to assist them in providing an effective solution for their future.

“We would like to see ourselves a trusted energy partner, where we could provide advice and solutions through our channel partners, such as the contractors and the distributors, and together, we can drive the market to provide wide-spread energy efficiency.”

Contact: www.schneider-electric.com.au